


May I Have This Dance

by roseandremus



Category: White Collar
Genre: Ball AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-24
Updated: 2019-05-24
Packaged: 2020-03-14 15:20:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,330
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18950767
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/roseandremus/pseuds/roseandremus
Summary: FBI Agent Elisabeth Reid is sent to help the New York White Collar Crime Division on a joint case due to the multiple murders and white collar crimes. One thing leads to another and the team has to attend a ball to capture the UNSUB.





	May I Have This Dance

In the FBI New York building, there was a cross of cases between general serial murderers and white collar crimes. That is why Special Agent Elisabeth Reid was in the White Collar Crime Division of the New York City offices. One of the cases she was working on had started and continued as white collar with murder mixed in when the perp became bored it would seem. It was to become a joint case, but there had been a general consensus between those in general that only one of them should go due to case load. That decision is why SA Reid arrived alone on the WCCD floor. Upon contact, Burke decided that Reid would be a fine addition to the case for two reasons. One of which was that she hadn't flirted with Caffrey, and the other was that she didn't disrespect Caffrey either. That was more than he had gotten from both agents and civilians alike. She presented as neither dumb nor arrogantly intelligent as people of her age and position usually did.

"We've connected him to seven gruesome murders throughout New York state, and if I remember correctly, five white collar crimes," the young woman began after their exchange of pleasantries.

"Six as of yesterday," corrected Neal with no malice hidden in his words. He appreciated that this new agent had not asked for him to leave or act differently.

Reid nodded in acknowledgement before adding, "We know he adores luxury, right? These kinds of guys love to flaunt and enjoy it before the urges and boredom come back. Is there any high status events in the city coming up? He could possibly be there. If not, we should check the classy restaurants and hotels or clubs. He would be a regular there when in the city. I'm pretty sure he's made his opinion on women quite clear through his murders."

Towards the end of Reid's suggestion while her head was down to fact check the file, the duo shared a look over her head.

Deciding to address her question, Burke implored, " How long have you been away from the city?"

Without sparing a glance, Reid answered, "Around a month. I've been chasing the trail he's left behind in hopes of a mistake appearing. I've been too late each time. Why?"

"There is a very high status event tomorrow as a matter of fact," Burke filled in the seemingly uninformed agent with a sliver of curiosity in his voice. "It's been all over the media for weeks."

"It's no event," Neal specified as if offended for the event itself. "It's the Winter Ball. High class, models and politicians alike will be attending from all over the country. Rumour has it that British Royalty might even make an appearance."

Reid had the decency to look semi-impressed with the occurrence before inquiring, "Any chance we could get any of your agents in that know the case?"

With a sigh slipping out of his mouth, Burke guessed, "We would be lucky to get four in. Three probably is possible. A guard and two mingling in hopes of spotting any suspects. Either way, some suspects of ours will be there."

Shifting out of her seat, Reid offhandedly queried, "Who do you want to send in? I can be guard or van if you run out of volunteers."

This time she noticed the glance between partners, but dismissed it as a quiet discussion and agreement over who to send.

Instead of the answer she expected, Reid was surprised at what Burke dictated, "You said in your reports that the women targeted had attended events such as this before they were killed. They seem to similar looks to you. It would make sense to send you and Neal in to identify or distract him. You're both young enough to intrigue him and fit in. I'll be guard so that I'm close enough to do something if anything goes wrong. Between the two of you, we should be able to draw his attention."

Surprise overtook Reid's expression before she could mask it. Every other time she had worked with another team or division, she had been sidelined in place of one of their own especially when only one or two people could go in. Meeting both of their eyes, Elisabeth joked, "I don't suppose either of you own a spare ball gown."

"Actually..."

Next thing she knew, Elisabeth was in the evidence locker searching for an acceptable dress for an actual to god ball with thee Neal Caffrey at her side. Peter, he made it very clear that he preferred to be called Peter, had apparently confiscated a snazzy dress in a past investigation. He had only described it as some whitish blue colour that had some kind of off-shoulder sleeves. Unfortunately, his vague description was of no help in finding the dress in the evidence locker.

After about an hour of searching and ten isles later, Neal called Elisabeth over saying he had found something. When she finally made her way through the maze of evidence, Elisabeth saw the dress that Peter had described in Neal's hands. It seemed to be a modest, off-shoulder blue dress that she might have to wear heals with because of the length. After the belt on the stomach, it flared out a little bit to be more like a ball gown. It was stunning to be short.

After a moment of ogling the dress, Neal interrupted her daydream by handing over the dress and asking in a sarcastically prince like tone, "Would you bestow me the honour of going to the ball with you?"

Grasping the fabric in hand, Elisabeth responded, "It would be my pleasure."

The trio met up at eight the next morning at a local cafe for their fixes of coffee and hot chocolate. The later going to the coffee-hating Elisabeth. Plans for how the ball could go down were discussed and where all of their backup would be on the outside. Possible exits were pointed out and ploys for grabbing their unsub's attention were drawn. The most popular was causing a scene on the dance floor whether it be a screaming match or spectacular dance moves. 

At about 10:30, Elisabeth rose from her seat with a distasteful tone, "If you'll excuse me, I have to find someone to do my makeup."

"June would probably helped you if you wanted!" Neal proffered with no thought.

Elisabeth considered it for a short while before responding, "If this June is okay with it, I would be up for it. Anything would be better than searching for someone else last minute." With a smile this time she continued, "Just text me the time and address, and I'll be there."

Grabbing a pen out of seemingly nowhere, Elisabeth quickly scribbled her number onto a random napkin for the ex-convict. A quick smile was given to the pair before she departed for sure this time.

She arrived on time to the home that could only be described of as a mansion at precisely 3 o'clock as dictated by Neal. Surprisingly enough, there was no gate to enter before arriving at the front entrance.

After knocking on the pristine door, Elisabeth waited a moment before an older lady answered in a sweet tone welcoming, "You must be Elisabeth."

"Hello, June?" Elisabeth replies with a question hiding in her tone. "Thank you for helping my with getting ready for this ball. I have to admit I wouldn't know where to start."

Noticing the parcel in her arms, June asked if that was the dress she was going to wear.

On the way up the stairs to Neal's dedicated area, the ladies chatted about the upcoming sting along with Elisabeth's opinion on Neal. June appeared content with her responses which made Elisabeth happy for a reason unknown to her. Upon entering the room, Elisabeth was greeted with the aroma of sweet wine and delicious pastries.

June smiled at the scene in front of her and led the agent to the designated table that held about ten or twenty different makeup devices. Elisabeth sat down and looked where instructed for the next two hours. The last five minutes of that time was dedicated to getting into the dress without ruining the makeup and hair that Neal and June had spent the previous two hours on.

When she walked down the stairs toward the door, she felt as if she was a princess going to a royal ball. That feeling only increased when she set her gaze on Neal in his beautiful suit that matched her dress. He even gave her a small curtsy that only made the night feel that much more magical.

Before Neal and Elisabeth ventured to the ball, they stopped by the FBI building once more to get their equipment and one last talking through of the mission with Peter and Diana, Peter's probie. When they finally arrived at the cities' gossip event, Elisabeth was not let down by the experience. The ceilings appeared endless with sparkling jewels, the railings on each floor glistened, the entrances were gigantic enough to fit the hulk holding a car above his head and the food tables seemed as long as the room and as full as a city wide feast.

Neal on the other hand was admiring the seemingly-innocent wonder of the woman he had the pleasure of working with on this case. Not only was she stunning in the dress she wore but also intellectually. The conversations throughout the night had had some of the most interesting and stimulating conversations of his life during that case. Whether they were observing the guests or checking the exits, the two of them were having the night of their lives.

They were approaching the ornate food table when Neal decided it was time to draw their unsub's attention. Neal turned to face Elisabeth when he seemingly bursted out of nowhere with the question, "May I have this dance?"

Elisabeth's beautiful smile was all the answer he needed before leading them onto the dance floor. Luck seemed to be on his side for a slow song came on when they settled between two couples that they had ruled out earlier. At first, little to no people noticed the two of them, but after a few songs, they were the main attraction on the floor. They had danced the tango, cha-cha, foxtrot, quickstep and waltz.

At the end of their last dance, they received applause from the crowd that had gathered to watch the two seamlessly move from one dance to the next at the change of a beat. When the couple arrived at the designated beverage area, the two diverged briefly to find their drinks of choice. However, Elisabeth did not meet back up.

Neal couldn't see her in any direction he looked and neither could their backup. He headed for the winding staircase that led up to the floors above while two of the backup rushed down the opposing staircase. Peter on the other hand dashed for the staircase closest to the exit in hopes of keeping up with Neal in his search for Elisabeth.

They found her tied and gagged on the third floor in the middle of a grandiose room that appeared to have no other purpose than to take up space. By the time Neal reached Elisabeth, a dark figure stepped out of the shadows with a suppressed pistol trained on the pair. Peter in response called out to the man and had his own gun aimed at the mystery man that had bleached blond hair and a carefully tailored dark purple suit on for the occasion.

As if insane, the man chuckled and stated, "If you let me out of here alive and free, I will not kill your pet and woman. However, that deal expires in the next two minutes. I am perfectly content with killing you, your pets here and everyone else in this building."

Acting as if nothing was happening behind him, Neal continued to unbind the seemingly endless amount of rope that had been wrapped around Elisabeth's arms, legs and waist. Once that had been finished, Elisabeth with no stutter pushed Neal behind her in hopes that if a bullet was shot, only an agent or the unsub would be hurt.

Meanwhile Peter responded in hopes of pulling the man's attention away from the younger pair, "What do you possibly have that would kill all of the people down there? Convince me why I should let you go."

The mystery man took his eye off of the pair to smirk with a confidence that made Peter want to punch him. The man only said three words yet they made Peter grow cold suddenly, "Bomb. Three minutes."

The pair didn't fail to see that they had the chance to move to a more favorable position and took the chance. Luckily, they made it to a pillar out of sight by the time the mystery man turned back. Peter took the chance of shooting the man in the shoulder he shot with in hopes of not having to kill the man even if he was a mass murderer.

By the time Peter checked in with the agents in the basement, the three minutes had passed and nothing had happened. Elisabeth on the other hand had called an ambulance for their mystery man. The party went on with no one the wiser of the events that passed only two floors above them despite the running of agents earlier.

When Peter turned back to check on his two partners, he noticed that they were dancing to the wispy rhythm that wafted up from the too loud speakers below. The sight brought a smile to his face before he continued on with post-op duties allowing the two of them to enjoy the night for a little while longer. The two of them seemed to be stuck in their own little world.


End file.
